Welcome to one of the newest categories. I started this category in case anyone wanted to write some Da Vinci's Inquest fanfic. The story below is the beginning of a Mick/Angela story, although I started writing it in the middle of last season, so I'm aware that changes on the show have taken place since. Dueto the format of the show and the lag time on getting new categories, the story is a little out-of date. Hope you all enjoy. Please, constructive reviews only.

"You think she played me," Angela accused that day in the car. The way Mick avoided giving her a straight answer told her she was correct. All of the tensions of the week: finding out she was being investigated by internal affairs, losing Sue, they all paled in comparison to this betrayal. What was it they said at the Academy? Partners are like blood. They didn't mention this only applied after a certain time, or that it only applied to partners of the same gender. Maybe if she asked, Sergeant Kurtz would let her work alone again. She liked going solo, setting her own pace. She remembered how Mick talked about his old partner, Leo, like he cared, like they were family. She doubted he talked about her in the same way.

"Who? Oh right, Angela. She got played by her junkie whore informant," she could see him saying to…to who? Suki? She knew Suki liked him. Damn it, everybody liked him: Joe Tang, Sergeant Kurtz, Leo, Rose, even Sue…everybody. Oh yes, and she liked him. She kicked herself every day for liking him. One night they were riding together and they joked about it.

"You wouldn't be able to resist me," he had said when she offered to let him stay at her place. The problem was, he was right.

He didn't trust her about Sue. That stung.

"You think she played me," she said. He wouldn't say no. She set her jaw.

"Look, Ang. Maybe you need a few days off," Mick suggested later that week, when they were sitting at their desks in the afternoon.

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing. You've been working hard on this thing with Brian, on the Roy Cardinal case, on trying to find Sue…maybe you need a break."

"Sorry," she said in a tone that indicated she definitely wasn't. Just then, Sergeant Kurtz appeared in the doorway of her office.

"Angela, could I see you for a moment?" Angela stood up and headed over.

"Sure." She stepped into the office and shut the door behind her. She noticed Mick watching her through the glass, concern written on his face, and she turned away quickly. "What's up?" Kurtz sat down again behind her desk and gestured to a chair across from her.

"Please, have a seat." At the serious look on the Sergeant's face, Angela felt nervousness ball up in her stomach. "I just had a talk with Joe Tang," Kurtz began.

"From Internal Affairs?" She felt certain she would lose her job then and there. Could they offer you early retirement if you were under forty? Maybe she wouldn't be so lucky: maybe she'd just be sacked. She had sudden visions of her hassling shoplifters at Pacific Centre or holding open doors at one of the banks on Dunbar.

"Yes. He was very interested in your informant, Sue," Kurtz raised an eyebrow. Angela paused.

"Is this serious?" She needed to know how far it had gone.

"Look, Angela, I'm going to be straight with you. You're one of my best detectives. I'll try to make sure you keep your badge, but you need to lie low for a little while. Don't keep looking for Sue."

"Take some time off. I'll make sure this all blows over." She felt sorry for Angela, who looked very wound up. "Get some rest. Mick will be fine without you for a few days." Angela sighed and stood up.

"Okay." She opened the door and headed back to her desk, where she began to pack her things. Mick looked at her, puzzled.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry. You were right. I need some time off," she answered.

"Everything go all right in there?" he asked.

"Yeah." She brushed him off. She pulled on her coat and turned to go to the door. "See you in a few days."

"I'll call if anything comes up," he called after her. She waved a hand in acknowledgement.

On her way home to her apartment, Angela made a U-turn and drove back the way she came. She needed a distraction. On the porch of her new house, she unlocked the door, which chipped white paint off the frame when it opened. She flicked on the light and sighed at the sight of the large, bare room. The emptiness fit her mood. After shutting the door behind her, she trudged up the stairs to what would eventually be her bedroom.

The white room was still sparse, although Angela had brought in a small set of wooden shelves from her apartment. It was so big and empty; she wondered how she could ever fill the space. The room had windows along one side of it, looking out across the lane to a row of houses similar to the one she was in. Looking out the window at them, she could make out shapes moving around inside. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. This had always been her dream; why did it now seem so hollow?

She tried to pull herself. After all, she had come here to get something done. She went over to the corner of the room, where she had set up her painting supplies and her portable radio. Her clothes were more suited to working than to painting, but she didn't really care. She turned the radio on to a rock and roll station, poured some bright blue paint into a roller tray, picked up a roller, and set to work.

She painted the entire room and moved out into the hallway, sometimes absentmindedly singing along to the radio n an attempt to fill the silence of the house. All of a sudden, the light flashed and went out.

"Damn!" she cursed over the loud music. There was still barely enough light from outside to see her way to the stairs, where she thought she had a box of new light bulbs. Box in hand, she groped her way through the dark back to her step-ladder. She took out the old bulb and had just replaced it, flooding the hall with light again, when she felt a hand on her back.

"Angela," said a voice. The surprise caused her to fall off the step-ladder, landing hard on her back. "Jesus, Ang. Didn't you hear me calling you?" It was only Mick, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked when she didn't get up immediately. She picked herself up and dusted herself off, ignoring the hand he extended to help her.

"Sorry, I guess the radio was too loud." She walked over to it and switched it off. She turned back to him, her hands on her hips. "How did you get in?" she demanded.

"I was just driving by. I saw someone moving around in here and didn't see your car, so I thought I'd check it out. Make sure it wasn't someone who shouldn't be here."

"I parked around back," she explained. She was touched by his concern and felt herself almost beginning to forgive him for earlier.

"Well, I knocked but the door was unlocked. I called but…" he trailed off.

"Okay. Thanks, Mick." She looked very tired and defeated in the almost harsh light. He felt helpless to do anything. As he looked into her dark eyes, he felt even more worried about her.

"If you're okay, I guess I'll be heading home," he said.

"Yeah, thanks."

"See you."

"See you."

She didn't ask why he had been driving by her house in the first place.

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